Rain leggings



June 27, 1950 RlEDEL 2,513,204

RAIN LEGGINGS Filed NOV. 12, 1947 INVENTOR: A05; /A D. M Q5054 By Her A r-romvsvs e 3] WM Patented June 27, 1950 UNITED STATES ()FTFLICZE.

' 2.51am 1mm LEG'GIN'GS Adelia D. Mflfiedel, :An'geles, Callie Applieatihn'November 12,..1s.41,,.fsenamo. 785,233

'1 Glaim.

My invention relates to articles "of apparel, and particularly to a protective covering for th'elegs of a person. Specifically, the invention pertains to waterproof storm leggings and the like used to protect the legs Of a wearer in inclement weather.

The waterproof leggings disclosed herein are designed particularly for use as a'mean-s forpr'otecing womens stockings worn in the rain and snow and against splashing of water bypassing vehicles. It is a primary object of my invention to provide leggings for the purpose specified which efiectively cover and adequately "protect the legs and the upper portion 'of the feet 'of the wearer, andanot'herobject is to provide leggings which are extremely'l'ight in weight and very economical to make so as to adapt them to be sold at an extremely low price.

Another object is to provide storm leggings which are adapted to be wrappedaround-the legs of the wearer and having fastening means, preferably in the form of either buttons and "buttonholes or snap-fasteners for retaining the-leggingson the legs of the wearer.

Another object is to provide leggings for use during inclement weather which inclu'de'iloops adapted to encircle the heelsoi the'wearefs shoes and embodying elastic means at the upper ends of the leggings for drawing the same snugly around the less.

A further object is to provide storm "leggings which are adapted to "be easily and 'quicklyapplied to and removed from *thel'egs oft'he wearer and capable ofbeing rolled or otherwise folded into a package of small compass .so as to adapt them to be carried in a pocketbook or other receptacle when notlin use.

Further objects will be apparent from the following description and from the drawing, which is intended for the purpose of illustration only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view, illustrating aipa'lrof my improved storm leggings as "applied to the legs of the person;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the ankle portionpf one of the legs and a legging, as viewed in the :d'irection of arrow 2 inFig. 1';

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of "one "of the leggings;

Fig. 4 is a composite view of the two panels or sections of one of the leggings; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the use of snap-fasteners for retaining the leggings in place on the leg.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my imdetail in Fig.4. As herein'shown, the sections,

which is adapted to fit against the outer side *of "a leg -8 'of :a :person; consists of a generally rectangular piece oithe-fiexi-ble mater-iaL'the corners of the lower portion "of the sectionbeing extended laiterallyto provide a point 9 atone side and a projecting tapered strap "in at the *other side thereof. The lower end ofthe section is 'made somewhat "wider than its upper portion and it willbe noted that the lower-edge "II of themetion'is' curved slightly as indicated inFig. 4. The material at theupper'and lower ends H and I2 and along the 'verti'caledge M'of the-section -'or panel 6-'i's folded or doubled back and hemmed by at least one row -of=*stitchesl3. Projecting from the apex-of the-strap D is an eye or buttonhole-loop t5 which may consist of a' short length ofelastic 'or inelasticcor'd, tape -er the like having its ends sewed to'the hem "at theend of the strap. nfsim-ilar' eye o'r button'hole-lcop I-l'i is provided at theupper end of these'cti'on' 6 and projects laterally from the hemmedvertical-edge ["4 thereof. Sew-ed to the hem-at the bottom edge of the panePB are the ends of a larger-elasticpr inelastic loop 1 which-is used for *thepur- "of are the ends nfan elastic strip-"23: A button 24 is *se'wed'to thepanel "1' at a point adj acent one end er the elast c stii za. Adjacent the lower edge of the'panl "I are similar buttons '25 and 6. Since it is desirable that the legging 5 follow closely the contour of the leg upon which it is worn, I prefer to form the legging by gradually reducing its size toward its lower end and this can be accomplished by slitting the material of the section I in an upward direction, and sewing the edges of the slit together as indicated at 21 termed a dart.

The panels 6 and I can be made by conventional methods and with the use of forming and sewing equipment commonly employed in the fabrication of wearing apparel. To assemble the panels 6 and I, it is only necessary to place their unhemmed vertical edges 28 and 29 together and sew them in this relationship, the loose edges being preferably" arranged at the inside or reverse side of the leggings. It will be apparent that when the two panels 6 and 1 are sewed together in this manner, a single sheet is formed which is adapted to be wrapped around the leg of a person. It will also be noted that the pointed corners 9 and of the panels 6 and 1 form together a gore 30,0f substantially triangular shape adapted to overlie the instep portion of the wearers foot or 'the upper portion of a shoe 3] worn by the person.

To apply the improved storm legging 5 to use it is placed in position against the front of the persons leg 8, with the gore 30 overlying the top of the wearers shoe 3 I, after which it is wrapped around the leg with the vertical edge of the panel 6 overlapping the adjacent edge of the'panel 1 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The upper portion of the legging 5 then encircles the calf of the leg and is retained in this position by merely inserting the button 24 through the buttonholeeloop Hi. The combined length of the upper edges of the panels 6 and 1 is somewhat greater than the average girth of the calf portion of a leg so that normally a loose fitting of the legging around the calf would occur. However, the elastic strip 23 acts to pucker the material along the upper edge of the legging and thus draw the same snugly around the calf of the leg as shown in Fig. 1. With the logging 5 thus held up on the leg in the manner explained above, the tapered strap ID of the panel 6 is brought around the back of the heel of the shoe. 3| and the button 25 is received in its buttonhole-loop [5. At the same time, the button 26 may be passed through the buttonhole I8 when buttonholes are employed and a snug fit of the lower portion of the legging around the ankle is effected. Either prior to or following the fastening of the sides of the legging 5 around the leg 8, the loops ll and 22 are-looped or hooked around the heel of theshoe, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and thus the legging is held against upward movement on the leg. l v

When a pair of the leggings 5' is applied to a womans legs as shownin Fig. 1, the legs are adequately covered thereby and thus when expensive stockings are worn-by the woman they are fully shielded from rain, snow and sleet and also protected against water splashed by passing vehicles. By overlapping the vertical edges of the legging to a substantial degree, the possibility of water or snow entering the legging is. effectively avoided. It has been found that because the legging is form fitting, that is, conforms substantially to the shape of the leg on which it is worn, the need for extra fastening devices arranged intermediate the upper and lower' ends of the legging is avoided and the application of the legging to the leg is greatly simplified. Moreover, since the legging is adequately held onjthe leg,

4 displacement of the legging during running, boarding vehicles, etc., is positively avoided. Furthermore, the improved storm legging is adapted for fabrication from light-weight, flexible transparent material so that the appearance of bulkiness is avoided and the stockings can be readily seen therethrough. The leggings are extremely light in weight and can be rolled or folded into a package of very small compass capable of being carried in a pocket or handbag.

- The improved legging is especially simple in construction and lends itself to mass production methods so that it can be manufactured and sold at a very low price. It will be apparent from the foregoing that the various buttonhole-loops can be made from elastic material, if desired, so that they will aid in drawing the legging snugly around the leg. Also, a pair of the buttons and buttonholes can be provided at the upper end of the legging to afford greater security. Referring to Fig. 5 of the drawing, it will also be noted that snap-fasteners 33 may be employed in lieu of the buttons shown in the preceding views within the concept of my invention.

While I have herein shown and described my improved storm legging as embodied in a preferred form and as applied to use in a particular manner, by way of example, it will be apparent that various modifications might be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. Consequently, I do not wish to be limited in this respect, but desire to be afforded the full scope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A rain legging for covering the leg and the instep portion of a shoe worn by a person, comprising: a sheet of flexible, waterproof material composed of two panels secured together in edgeto-edge relationship, the borders of said panels being'hemmed, said panels having pointed corners at the lower ends of their adjoining edges,

said corners together providin a gore portion adapted to overlie the instep portion of the shoe, said sheet being of sufficient width to adapt it to encircle the leg with one of its vertical edges overlapping its other vertical edge at the back of the leg; a pair of loops carried by said sheet and adapted to surround the shoe and engage the sole thereof forwardly of the heel; and buttons at the upper and lower portions of one of said panels engageable in buttonholes in the other of said panels for releasably retaining said vertical edges in overlapping relationship.

' ADELIA D. M. RIEDEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file, of this patent:

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

